I’m watching the Bush-Putin joint press conference in advance of the G8 meeting. A female reporter asked a two-part question. First, she wanted to know if Bush and Putin had discussed weapons of mass destruction, delivery systems, and non-proliferation strategies. Second, she wanted to know if U.S.-Russian relations had deteriorated in recent years. Bush answered first. He said that they had indeed discussed WMD, Iran, and North Korea and that they had resolved to speak with a common voice that their nuclear ambitions were not acceptable. Then he said that U.S.-Russian relations were strong, that there were skeptics on both sides, but cooperation was still strong. Then it was Putin’s turn.
Putin spoke in Russian, so I am relying on his translator. First he let out a big sigh. Then he said (paraphrasing):
“First, I want to make it clear that we will not be joining any crusades, or holy alliances.”
Given current conditions in the Middle East, that perked up my ears. He went on to say that U.S.-Russian cooperation (a reference to Bush’s common voice) did NOT represent a conspiracy against any particular state (Iran) and that their intention was not to deny Iran their right to develop nuclear energy, but to find a solution to the current crisis. Very tough words. He also managed to slam Bush on another question. Asked about deficiencies in Russian democracy, Putin replied:
“It’s true that we do not really want to emulate Iraq’s democracy.”
That got a lot of uncomfortable laughs.
Putin looked stern and humorless, and seemed to be either annoyed to have to take questions or annoyed to have to spend time with George W. Bush. It looks like their meeting has not gone well at all.
Putin did recognize that Israel has a right to respond to attacks originating from Lebanon, but said that ‘bloodshed should cease’ and that nothing will be improved through violence.
All told, he made a fool of Bush. It’s strange to have a Russian strongman scoring points on a U.S. President and to feel ambivalent about it. It just shows how out of touch with reality the Bush administration has become that the vast majority of the world is more sympathetic to Putin’s positions on the issues than they are to Bush’s.
I do wonder, though, why Putin felt the need to assure the world that Russia will not be joining in any crusades or holy alliances?
